Somewhere Between Kyoto and Tokyo
by the Scribe1
Summary: Manga-based. Just a what-if Miki hadn't gone to Kyoto in Volume 8 snippit. YM naturally.


Between Kyoto and Tokyo  
  
"Aaaaaiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"  
  
The bellows of Yokozumo Kari could be heard halfway across the campus of Kyoto Institute of Technology. The short, slight girl ran pell mell through crowds of startled students waving a sheet of paper frantically in one hand. Her marathon dash ended abruptly as she smashed headlong into a tall, handsome and very bewildered blond boy.  
  
"Yokozumo, what...?" he began, looking around for whoever was trying to murder her.  
  
"Yuuuuuuuuu!" She threw her arms around him and nearly strangled him in a hug. "I got in!"  
  
"You're choking me!" he grunted, trying to pry her hands off.  
  
Kari released her death-grip with a blush. "Gomen!" She bowed.  
  
Yuu rubbed his neck pointedly, but gave her a smile. "Forget it. What were you aiiiiee-ing about?"  
  
"Oh! Toryu. I got in," she explained, still pink with the realization that she'd hugged the most popular undergrad at KIT in public. Several freshman girls were giving her nasty looks.  
  
Yuu's mouth twitched, and he was immediately angry with himself for the betrayal. It was foolish anyway. He should be able to hear the name of Her school without a pang. A year had passed, after all. Well, ten months and two weeks. And a day. Still, it was a minute before he could reply. "Oh, hey. That's great. You really wanted that transfer."  
  
"Of course! Who wouldn't? Tokyo, can you imagine?" she gushed, failing to notice his lack of enthusiasm.  
  
"Well, actually, I can," he said reluctantly. "I'm from Tokyo."  
  
"You... you are?" she asked breathlessly, her eyes shining with the beginnings of an idea.  
  
"Graduated from Toryu's attached high school."  
  
"I don't believe it! You're so cool, Yuu!"  
  
"Yes, but that has nothing to do with where I'm from. I'm naturally great. "He boasted, trying to change the subject. He started walking.  
  
Kari kept pace. "I didn't know you were from Tokyo, though. Saho never..." she trailed off. Yuu had rejected Takayama Saho, her best friend, a few weeks ago.  
  
"Matsuura!" A deep voice cut off her embarrassment. Fujitsi Rin, a stocky, be-spectacled boy with a huge messenger bag weighing him down on one side, ran crookedly towards them.  
  
"Fujitsi!" Yuu clapped the shorter boy on the shoulder, glad for the change of topic. "There you are."  
  
"I'm sorry; I got held up in the labs. Hey, Yokozuma." He shot her a short look, taking in how lovely her cheeks were when she blushed.  
  
"Hey, Rin. Did you know Yuu was from Tokyo?"  
  
"Yeah, doesn't everyone? I thought after the Matsuura Yuu Fan Club started publishing a newsletter all of KIT would be up to date on the details and origins of our fabulously perfect, infallible and otherwise godlike most eligible bachelor." He patted Yuu's arm, and gestured at him with the other hand, imitating a game-show hostess displaying the prize.  
  
"Tell me they don't have a newsletter," Yuu groaned.  
  
"Hey, everyone! Matsuura Fan Newsletter, fresh edition!" Shouted a girl with pigtails in front of the campus bookstore, causing a stampede of eager coeds. A bead of sweat formed on Yuu's forehead.  
  
"If you don't like it you should pick one and settle down. You can't be the most eligible bachelor if you have a girl." Rin pointed out rationally.  
  
Yuu nodded, but his face clouded over. Rin noticed and his eyebrows knitted together in concern.  
  
"Seriously, though. You could have any girl on campus, but you don't even look at anyone. If I had your popularity...." He glanced at Kari and trailed off.  
  
"That's so high school," Kari scoffed, obliviously, scowling at the throng of girls who were now vocally exclaiming over the fact that Yuu loved spicy mustard on his hotdogs, but no ketchup. "Fan Clubs. Humph."  
  
Yuu smiled. "I remember Arimi used to have these three guys – what?" He shifted uncomfortably under the inquisitive gazes of his friends.  
  
"Arimi? Is that your old girlfriend?" Kari asked, curiously.  
  
"Ye- yes," he said after a moment, his stomach clenched. Technically she was....  
  
"And she had a fan club? Boy, she must've been really pretty!"  
  
"She's cute." Yuu said dismissively, walking on again.  
  
"Does she still live in Tokyo?" Rin asked, catching up.  
  
"Yes. She's at Toryo. All my old friends are, pretty much."  
  
Kari stopped dead. Her earlier idea sprang up suddenly into a perfect plan. "Yuu, you've got to help me!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't know anyone in Tokyo, and I'm transferring late. All the cliques'll be formed by now. You've got to introduce me to your friends!"  
  
"Wait, what?" Rin cut in, anxiously.  
  
"Yokozumo got into Toryu." Yuu explained, grimacing sympathetically at his friend.  
  
"Congratulations!" Rin exclaimed very brightly after a moment, pumping Kari's hand up and down. "That's so fantastic!"  
  
Kari pulled her hand back and turned to Yuu. "Please, Yuu. I don't know anybody."  
  
Yuu was silent for a minute. It was the perfect excuse to go home. He'd be justified. Rin could come too. They'd spend a week or so hanging out with the old gang, and he'd get to see Her face.... Her face. It flashed before him and his heart swelled. "No," he choked out in a strangled voice.  
  
"No?" Kari asked, astonished. Rin looked at Yuu in amazement.  
  
"I said no." Yuu repeated coolly, getting a hold on himself. "I just remembered I've got to ask Professor Sanso about my paper. See ya." He jogged off before they could say a word.  
  
Kari stared after him blankly.  
  
"Wow, talk about stingy," Rin scowled. "I'm surprised at him."  
  
She didn't reply. Her eyes were fixed on Yuu's retreating back.  
  
"I mean it's not like it would kill him just to introduce you to a couple of people. He's got to go home sometime anyway. This just isn't like him."  
  
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Kari wailed suddenly, tears streaming all over the place. What was she going to do all alone in Tokyo?  
  
"Shoot!" Rin waved his hands helplessly at her, painfully aware of all the people who had turned to stare. "Let's go find Takayama and I'll buy you a shake."  
  
Kari's sobs subsided to an occasional sniffle and they headed off towards the dorms.  
  
"...And he wouldn't help me at all! He just ran off!" Kari finished, taking a big slurp from her second strawberry shake. "He's the most selfish guy ever!"  
  
Saho swirled her straw around in her shake. "I don't know about that."  
  
"Huh?" Kari blinked. She'd expected complete sympathy from her best friend, at least.  
  
"Well, have you noticed Yuu never goes home to visit?" Saho asked quietly.  
  
"Doesn't he? I thought he at least went home for the summer."  
  
"Uh-uh, he stayed on and worked the whole time."  
  
"But so did Souso, didn't he? To make money to help pay for his tuition."  
  
"That's true, but Yuu never talks about his family, does he?"  
  
"No," Kari agreed slowly, realizing it for the first time. "I didn't even know where he was from until today."  
  
Rin frowned. "It's kind of disturbing, if you think about it. I mean, we've been friends with him for a while now. He knows just about everything about me, all my secrets, but I couldn't tell you a single thing about something as basic as his family. They could be wealthy and want to push him into a family business so he has to work to follow his own dreams. Or they could be really poor. They could even be dead...."  
  
Kari's eyes widened with alarm. "You don't think his parents are dead, do you, Saho?" she asked anxiously.  
  
"No, they're definitely not dead," Saho reassured her. "He was on the phone with his mom once when I came to his room to, um, to return a book. But I do think Yuu's got some serious issues he left back in Tokyo that hurt him a lot."  
  
"He did mention his old girlfriend–"Kari began.  
  
Saho involuntarily jerked her wrist, sending a glob of brown shake onto her hand. "He did?" She sat up straighter.  
  
"Yes, Arimi. He said she's really cute and she had a fan club in high school."  
  
"'I can't forget my old girlfriend,'" Saho murmured.  
  
"What?" Rin asked, counting the bills in his wallet as Kari finished her shake.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Kari's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, Saho! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...."  
  
"It's okay." Saho blushed.  
  
Rin looked at them both curiously. "I get the feeling I'm missing something."  
  
"You usually are," Kari said teasingly.  
  
"Seriously!" Rin refused to be deflected.  
  
Saho sighed. "It's alright. Fujitsu, I confessed to Yuu and he turned me down because he can't forget his old girlfriend."  
  
"Matsuura rejected you? But you're the prettiest girl in Kyoto!" he blurted.  
  
"Not in Tokyo, apparently." She smiled sadly.  
  
Kari looked insulted.  
  
"That explains why he doesn't want to go home, though. If this Arimi girl broke his heart and it hurts too much to be near her...." Rin mused. "It could also be why he doesn't open up. If she burned him that badly, no wonder he keeps to himself."  
  
"I can't forgive her!" Kari burst out suddenly. "What kind of girl could hurt such a handsome guy? She ruined the chances for everyone else! She's a traitor to her sex! She shouldn't get away with it!"  
  
"Well, what can you do about it?" Rin asked, tugging her back down onto the bench.  
  
"I can.... I can convince Yuu to go back to Tokyo and confront her! Then he can get over her and ask Saho out!"  
  
"And you conveniently get to meet all his Toryu friends," Rin observed dryly.  
  
"That too." She admitted.  
  
"I think that might actually be a good idea," Saho spoke up. "Yuu's really hurting inside; confronting his past might help him heal some old wounds. I think we should try it."  
  
"Deal!" Kari shouted.  
  
"Deal," Saho agreed.  
  
"Deal," said Rin. "Now let's get out of here before Kari orders another shake and bankrupts me."  
  
"How many times do I have to say no?" Yuu pondered aloud as he flipped through his Advanced Mathematics text.  
  
"Just as many times as it takes to change your mind. I'm not giving up on this one, Yuu!" Kari insisted, smacking her hand down on the blank page of her sociology essay, earning an admonishment from the librarian.  
  
"C'mon, Matsuura," Rin chimed in softly. "Think of the rest of us. We've never been to Tokyo. As Japanese citizens we deserve a chance to see our capitol. You can't deprive us of that."  
  
Yuu turned a page silently and hunched over the heavy wooden table, ignoring his two friends.  
  
"Yuuuuuuuuu, please?" Kari begged.  
  
He scrawled a note onto a sheet of paper and continued on reading until a violently red flier was held about an inch away from his face.  
  
"What...?" he asked, snatching the paper and turning around. "Saho? What is this?"  
  
Saho snatched off her knitted cap and sat down. "Emergency flier; the student association was putting them up everywhere outside."  
  
"What's going on?" Kari asked, hopping up to read over Yuu's shoulder.  
  
"'Dorms will be closed to students over winter recess due to renovations.'" Yuu quoted mechanically. That meant....  
  
"Guess we're going to Tokyo," Saho grinned.  
  
His eyes were focused on the flier and a thousand thoughts jumped through him at once. Tokyo. Home. Her. Suddenly Saho's comment registered. "You too?" he asked sharply, looking up.  
  
"Me too," she agreed.  
  
Yuu was silent for a minute: studying her, weighing her against his own weakness. He couldn't go home the way things were. He'd never be strong enough. But to ask Saho... it would hurt her so much. It was the only way. "I have one condition."  
  
Kari cheered and gave Rin a high five.  
  
"What's the condition?" Saho asked, grinning.  
  
"You have to let people think you're my girlfriend," he said, looking her in the eye.  
  
"Wh-what?" She could feel her heart beating in her throat.  
  
"I'm not asking you to lie. I just need you – and the two of you – to let my friends and family think what I tell them is true. That's the condition. Take it or leave it."  
  
Saho studied Yuu's face. It was so intense; he was radiating some emotion – the complete opposite of his usual cool self. She'd known that there was more to him then he let on, but this.... She realized everyone was waiting for her to answer. "Well, I...." She managed to meet his eyes. The emotion. It was... pain. "Take it, I guess."  
  
Yuu let out a breath.  
  
"Yeah!" Kari and Rin proceeded to dance around until the librarian came and kicked them all out.  
  
"In half an hour we'll be in Tokyo!" Kari sang, as she folded the in-flight magazine into a fan.  
  
"Will you stop saying that? We know where we're going." Rin bit out shortly, clutching the Flight Safety Pamphlet tightly in one hand.  
  
Kari stuck her tongue out at him. "You're just scared. You wanted to take the train all the way to Tokyo. Real men aren't afraid of airplanes."  
  
"I guess that makes you a real man, then."  
  
"No," she sneered. "I meant like Yuu. He's not scared. Are you, Yuu? Yuu?"  
  
She tapped his sleeve with her fan and he turned from his study of the window. "What?"  
  
"Great view of the wing, isn't it?" Saho teased from across the aisle.  
  
"Yeah." He smiled ruefully. "I should probably tell you all about my family."  
  
"It was really nice of them to let us all come stay," Rin commented. The girls nodded in agreement.  
  
"On such short notice, too," Kari added.  
  
"Nah." Yuu shook his head dismissively. "They were ecstatic. Remember, I'm bringing a girlfriend home. They probably spent the past three weeks thinking of ways to embarrass me."  
  
"Typical parents." Rin chuckled.  
  
"Typical? You have no idea. But I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you. It all started in Hawaii," Yuu began, his voice suddenly serious. "My mom and dad took a trip together when I was in high school, and when they came home they told me they were getting divorced."  
  
"Divorced! Oh, no! Poor Yuu!" Kari exclaimed.  
  
Yuu smiled. "It wasn't that bad. You see, while they were on vacation they... met this couple, the Koishikawas, and they fell in love: Dad with Rumi and Mom with Jin. So it was decided that they'd all get divorced and then remarry."  
  
"What! That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard!" Kari blurted.  
  
"Kari!" Saho gasped, scandalized. Yuu was grinning.  
  
"That's what Miki said...." He trailed off, uncomfortably.  
  
"Who's Miki?" Rin asked curiously.  
  
"Koishikawa Miki. Their daughter. She's our age. She was really opposed to the whole thing. We all met for the first time at a fancy restaurant and she burst into tears right at the table."  
  
"What a baby," Kari scoffed.  
  
"How would you feel? She just didn't want her family to split up," Yuu said defensively.  
  
"That makes sense," Rin agreed. Kari looked down.  
  
"Anyway, it was decided that the best thing would be for us to all move into a huge house together, so Miki and I could still be with our parents."  
  
"Really? Wasn't that awkward?" Saho asked.  
  
"No. They all got on like... well, like they'd known each other for ages. Once Miki accepted it everything was fine."  
  
"Was? What changed?" Rin picked up on Yuu's tone. It sounded as if he were talking about something that had happened a long time in the past, instead of just a few years ago.  
  
"Is," Yuu corrected abruptly. "Nothing changed. That's the way things are still. My parents and stepparents still live in the same house. I just didn't want you all to be shocked by it."  
  
"And Miki? Does she still live there?" Kari wanted to know.  
  
"Yes. She goes to Toryu." He turned back to the window as Kari dissolved into squeals.  
  
"Did you hear that, Saho? We get to stay with a bona fide Toryu student! I wonder what she wears to class..."  
  
When the plane landed twenty minutes later she was still chattering about whether or not Miki would like her, and if she should have worn her black skirt.  
  
"Where are your folks?" Rin asked, as they stood around the baggage carousel.  
  
"I don't know. Good question." Yuu scanned the crowd, standing on his toes. He was so intent that he jumped a mile when a pretty young girl with a huge plaid wool coat folded over one arm tapped his shoulder from behind. "Kari! Don't scare me like..." he turned around and lost his train of thought. "M- miki."  
  
"Welcome home," she said softly, putting her free hand in the pocket of her long black skirt.  
  
"You cut your hair." Yuu said distantly.  
  
"Yeah, a while ago." She touched a strand.  
  
"It's nice."  
  
There was an awkward pause.  
  
Finally, Kari could take it no more. "I knew I should've worn my black skirt!"  
  
Miki laughed and the tension broke.  
  
"Where's everybody?" Yuu asked.  
  
"They all suddenly came down with the flu, they said, and asked me to meet you. It was very suspicious; they seemed fine this morning. I think they're up to something. But I get to drive Youji's car, so I played along," Miki explained impishly.  
  
"You sold me out?" Yuu asked, disbelieving.  
  
"Of course! Have you seen your father's car?" She ducked as Yuu swung a duffel bag at her.  
  
"Thanks a lot!"  
  
"Any time!" They dissolved into laughter.  
  
"Ahem!" Rin cleared his throat and they suddenly remembered that Yuu's friends were standing there.  
  
"Sorry!" They bowed in unison.  
  
"Everyone, this is Koishikawa Miki, our chauffeur for the day. Miki, this is Fujitsi Rin, my best friend in Kyoto," Yuu introduced.  
  
"Charmed," Rin said gallantly, taking her hand. "Yuu never told us he had such a lovely sister."  
  
Yuu grabbed his friend by the collar and pulled him back. "There's a reason for that," he muttered darkly.  
  
"Wow, you look really scary, Yuu. Glad you're not my brother." Kari stepped forward and bowed deeply. "I'm Yokozumo Kari, future Toryu student. I'm so happy to meet a future classmate!"  
  
Miki smiled and bowed. "It's nice to meet you, too," she said. "I like your skirt, by the way. It's much nicer than this one. Pink looks good on you."  
  
"You really think so?" Kari glowed and twirled around, admiring her skirt.  
  
"Seems like you've taken everyone else's heart; I might as well make it unanimous," Saho remarked, stepping forward. Miki stared at her, startled, and looked a question at Yuu.  
  
Yuu's stomach dropped to his feet. All the warmth that had flooded through him for the first time in a year disappeared. For a minute there things had seemed like they used to be – like nothing had changed. But he had to remember that things weren't the same and it was time for him to begin his act. Still, his shoes seemed glued to the floor and it was so hard to take that first step towards Saho. Finally he did it. He put his arm around her and drew her to stand in front of Miki.  
  
"I hope you don't give all of your heart to Miki," he observed, giving her what he hoped passed for a tender glance, suddenly certain there was no way Miki would be fooled. "Because then what would be left for me? Takayama Saho, this is Koishikawa Miki. Miki, this is – this is Saho." He'd meant to say "this is my girlfriend" but at the last second the words wouldn't come.  
  
He didn't need to say it, though. Miki stared at Yuu's hand – her Yuu's hand – resting on this beautiful girl's shoulder, as if it was the only thing she had ever seen in her entire life. She felt like she'd been born staring at it and would continue doing so until the end of time. It was suddenly exponentially more difficult to pretend to be cheerful.  
  
"Nice to meet you," Saho said at last, when it became obvious that Miki wasn't going to speak.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry," Miki apologized, bowing repeatedly. "I just didn't expect.... Yuu's never brought home a girl before," she explained, hating herself for twisting the truth to save her own pride. "Welcome to Tokyo," she finished lamely.  
  
"Thank you." Saho smiled and covered Yuu's hand with her own.  
  
"Well, this is a nice airport and everything, but do you guys think we can get going sometime soon? I'm starting to get hungry," Rin cut in.  
  
"I hear that!" Kari echoed.  
  
"From a mile away, if there's food involved," Rin teased.  
  
Miki looked from one of them to the other and smiled regretfully. "Right, this way."  
  
"SURPRISE!"  
  
Confetti flew everywhere and Yuu's vision was soon completely obscured by his two weeping mothers who were nearly strangling him in an embrace.  
  
"Welcome home, son!" Matsuura Youji was saying as his ex-wife lit into Yuu for staying away so long. Koishikawa Jin was exclaiming excitedly about the new game system he'd gotten, and how desperately he needed his stepson's help to beat Metroid.  
  
"And who are these lovely young girls? Which one's Saho? I bet it's you, isn't it? I knew she'd be beautiful if she caught Yuu!" Rumi made a beeline right for Saho, who blushed and bowed deeply.  
  
"A pleasure to meet you, ma'am," she said deferentially.  
  
"So polite, too! You can call me Rumi, dear. I'm Yuu's stepmother. This is my husband, Youji, Yuu's father. Youji!" Youji waved and turned back to interrogating his son about school. "That's Chiyako, of course, Yuu's mother." She pointed to Chiyako, who still hadn't let Yuu out of her arms, and was absorbed in looking him over to make absolutely certain that he was in one piece. "And that's her husband, Jin," she finished, then scowled. "Jin! Come help the girls with their bags!"  
  
"Calm down, mom. They'll never remember that," Miki scolded, hauling a large suitcase across the threshold and leaning it against the wall in the entrance hall, breathing heavily all the while. "Dad! Help me out here. You could grab one too, you know." She looked pointedly from her mother to the open door. Rumi took one look at the luggage piled in the back seat of her husband's car and immediately began to lecture Miki on respect for one's elders. Miki threw her hands up and headed out to help her father with a particularly large suitcase. Rin hastened to follow, unwilling to make trouble for his hosts and glad to escape the pandemonium.  
  
"And you're Kari, right? Yuu's friend who's transferring? You'll just love Toryu. Miki says her professors are just – Miki!" She gasped and ran out the door and across the lawn. All the chatter in the house stopped and everyone's attention turned abruptly to the place where Miki was sprawled in her father's arms.  
  
"Miki!" Yuu was sheet white as he followed his stepmother. Rumi knelt down next to Jin, and put a hand to her daughter's forehead. Everyone clustered around anxiously.  
  
"What happened?" Yuu demanded.  
  
"Is she alright?" Kari asked, worriedly. "She looks so pale."  
  
"She just collapsed," Rin explained, nervously.  
  
"Not again," Chiyako cried miserably.  
  
Jin was calling Miki's name and Rumi patted her cheek until finally she came to. The group let out a relieved sigh.  
  
"That's it, Rumi. This time we're taking her to a specialist," Youji affirmed.  
  
"No!" Miki shouted sitting up too quickly and swaying.  
  
"I think it's the best thing," Jin agreed, pulling Miki gently to lean against him.  
  
"I don't want to," she protested weakly.  
  
"What's going on?" Yuu demanded angrily, his heart still pounding with fear. "What's wrong with Miki?" She looked so fragile laid against her father's chest. He wanted to snatch her away and hold her as close as possible.  
  
"Nothing," Miki said, sternly. She got up, successfully this time, and folded her arms around herself protectively. "I just overdid it. That suitcase was too much strain, so I got a little light-headed. What did you guys pack, anyway?" She turned to Yuu's friends. "That thing weighed a ton!"  
  
"You did not just get light-headed. You fainted, Miki! And that's the second time this month. That isn't normal; I don't care what you were lifting." She held Miki's chin in her hand. "You heard your fathers. I'm making an appointment for you to see a specialist tomorrow."  
  
Miki pulled away and ran into the house and straight up the front stairs. A slam was heard as she locked herself in her room.  
  
Rumi stared after her and Chiyako put an arm around her waist. "She'll be okay, Rumi. You know she will."  
  
"I know," Rumi agreed doubtfully. She shook herself. "But we're being so rude! We have guests! Youji, Jin, finish moving the luggage. The rest of you come inside, we made a huge welcome cake and we can't just let it go to waste!" She linked arms with Kari and Saho and shepherded them into the house, followed by Chiyako, who was tugging Rin along by the arm. Yuu stood still where he was, his brow furrowed.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Yuu. We'll take care of her," Jin said comfortingly, patting Yuu on the shoulder before he went back to grab the rest of the bags.  
  
"He's right. It's good to have you home, son." Youji ruffled his son's hair. "Go on in and eat."  
  
Will Continue 


End file.
